The Kirksville Lady Tigers made it to their second straight Elite Eight and that was due in large part to the play and leadership of senior McKenzie Russell. Russell averaged 16.5 points this season as she scored 1,240 career points and leaves the KHS program as their all-time leader in three-point shots made with 133. For these reasons and others Russell is the 2012-13 Daily Express Girls Player of the Year.

“McKenzie is a competitive, hardworking athlete, but more importantly than that she is the kind of athlete that all coaches want to have and keep in their program. She truly wanted to be a part of something great no matter what she had to give up personally,” said Kirksville head coach Sara Williams.

Russell is grateful for the support she has received along the way.

“It’s an honor to be named player of the year again, it is tremendous. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my friends, family and the community, it’s just an honor,” said Russell.

The Lady Tigers had an extremely talented team over the past two season, but Russell was the unquestioned leader.

“We had great players surrounding her the past two seasons, but she was a big key to making everything happen,” said Williams.

KHS won back-to-back NCMC titles, went undefeated at home over the past two seasons and won back-to-back sectional state tournament games.

“My senior year was about reaching my goals and making sure that all of the hard work paid off and I feel like it did,” said Russell.

Russell gets a lot of attention for putting the ball in the basket, but her game is much more than that. She led the Lady Tigers in deflections and steals this season, while increasing her leadership role.

“She brings energy and enthusiasm to the gym everyday. She has also done a great job of pushing our younger players to become better and helping to instill her love of the game to them,” said Williams.

Russell remembers when she was one of those younger players.

“I can still remember back to when I was a freshman. I didn’t start my first game but within a couple minutes coach Williams came to me and said, 'Russell, get in there.' I was so nervous. We were an average team my first two years and then we built great team chemistry and were able to make it to back-to-back Elite Eights and that was just amazing. I couldn’t have asked for better teammates, and it’s kind of sad for it to come to an end,” said Russell.

Page 2 of 2 - A player like Russell doesn’t come along often.

“McKenzie had an unbelievable basketball career and I am truly going to miss her and what she has meant to our program. She has worked so hard over the past four years and she deserves all the awards she has won. I’m honored to have had a chance to be a part of all of it,” said Williams.